This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Hawaii travel: Two perfect days on magical Maui

From perfect beaches to excellent food and local music, Maui has something for everyone.

The sunsets are pure magic outside the Napili Kai Beach Resort on Maui. There's a nightly tiki-torch lighting ceremony and the views out to the islands of Molokai and Lanai are wonderful. (Jim Byers / Toronto Star)

The luau at the Westin Maui hotel on Ka'anapali Beach is one of the best in Hawaii. (Jim Byers / Toronto Star)

Maui's Napili Beach is one of the most beautiful in Hawaii. No high-rises are allowed and it's a great beach for families who want to swim or snorkel. (Jim Byers / Toronto Star)

Haleakala Crater rests some two miles above sea level on Maui. The landscape is harsh but beautiful. (Dreamstime)

The Westin Mauii sits on beautiful, long Ka'anapali Beach. It's a fabulous resort, with pools and slides galore for kids. Not to mention adults. (Jim Byers / Toronto Star)

Watching for humpback whales in a wonderful activity on the island of Maui. They're typically found in the channel between Maui, Lanai and Molokai from fall to spring. They spend their summers in the north Pacific. (Maui Visitors Bureau)

Watching the windsurfers at Hookipa Beach is a great way to spend a couple hours. (Maui Visitors Bureau)

There’s a ton to do on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Here’s a great way to see a good sample in 48 hours. We’ve started this on Wednesday so you can take advantage of a great Hawaiian music show.

WEDNESDAY

5 p.m. SUNSET DRINK

Sidle up to the patio bar at the Napili Kai Beach Resort, where you’re a half-step from the golden crescent of Napili Beach and maybe three metres from the water. Get a 5:30 or 6 p.m. dinner reservation at the open-air Sea House restaurant, which grills fresh mahi mahi several ways, so you can you get out the door in time for the resort’s weekly slack key guitar show. Full dinners at the Sea House in the $30 range; typical for Maui. Napilikai.com. 1-800-367-5030

6:45 p.m. TAP YOUR TOES

Article Continued Below

Make your way through the manicured grounds of the resort and get in line for the show. Guitarist and multiple Grammy Award winner George Kahumoku Jr. will explain how Hawaiians learned to slacken the keys on a guitar, and he’ll play some incredible tunes as a warm-up to whatever island act might be on tap that night. Slack key is played with both a bass and rhythm or lead guitar line; making it sound like a full band on stage. The highly entertaining, enthusiastic and talented Da Ukelele Boyz are a regular fixture and you’ll be tapping your flip-flops in no time. Slackkeyshow.com

10 p.m. MOONLIGHT DRINK

Before retiring at the Napili Kai Resort, settle in for a drink out on the rocky point at next-door Merriman’s. It’s a posh dinner spot that also has a great outdoor seating area under the stars. 808-669-6400. Merrimanshawaii.com

9 a.m. BREAK THAT FAST

The Sea House at Napili Kai has a huge range of Hawaiian options for breakfast: omelettes with Portuguese sausage, pineapple and Swiss cheese, or a Thai omelet with crab, Maui onions, mixed cheese and sweet Thai chili. Or dig into chocolate and macadamia nut pancakes. seahousemaui.com. Also worth a look is CJ’s Deli and Diner in nearby Kaanapali for humongous portions and friendly service at reasonable prices. The Big Kahuna pancake special comes with whipped cream, pineapple, bananas and walnuts. cjsmaui.com

10 a.m. HIT THE BEACH

Napili Beach offers up a placid north section with a nice reef for snorkelling, or you can venture to the southern end and take on some nice body-surfing waves, especially in winter. There’s also an increasing number of paddle-boarders. Ka’anapali Beach, perhaps 10 minutes from Napili, offers an enormous, long strand of golden sand with plenty of people-watching options and a long, ocean-front walking path. There’s a great little whaling museum at Whalers Village shopping centre.

Noon FISH TACO TIME

Ask for a table close to the water as you dine outside at Hula Grill. Or try the second-floor balcony next door at Leilani’s on the Beach, with fabulous views of the sand and out towards Lanai and Molokai. The fish tacos at Leilani’s are whole filets that are blackened and grilled and wrapped in a soft shell. Sensational. hulagrillkaanapali.comhttp://www.leilanis.com/" target="_blank">Leilanis.com.

3 p.m. HISTORY LESSON

After a post-lunch swim, head down to the thriving, fun town of Lahaina for a stroll along historic Front St. Wooden storefronts lend an old-time air to the place, and you can buy everything from turtle-shaped pendants to surf gear, plus cruise the galleries.

The Banyan tree dates to 1873 and has perhaps a dozen trunks that spread out over an entire block. There are regular markets with folks hawking candles, soap and art or clothing in the sun-dappled shade, and you’ll find kids climbing up into cozy nooks of the trunks or swinging on hanging vines.

Check out Baldwin House, home to missionaries who tried to tame the wild nature of Lahaina when it was the whaling centre for the Pacific Ocean. Or walk a block up to the Wing Ho Temple at 858 Front, where there are illustrations of Asian life in Hawaii and a small building out back that shows old Thomas Edison movies of life in Hawaii in the late 1800s.

6 p.m. LUAU TIME

The Westin Ka’anapali has a fabulous luau with good, fresh fish with salads (and Hawaiian poi if you like) brought right to your table, rather than a buffet. With the sun setting behind the stage, a series of entertainers do a variety of dances from Pacific island nations, changing from evening-gown (I’m not quite sure why) to more traditional grass-skirts. The music and dancing are great, and the men will come out with glistening bare chests and toss fiery logs dozens of metres in the air. westinkaanapali.com

FRIDAY

7 a.m. FUEL UP IN PAIA

Start with coffee and a massive coconut-pineapple muffin at Anthony’s in Paia, five minutes south of the Kahului airport on the east side of the island. They make great, local blends and sell fabulous mugs and glasses and kitchen-y stuff in back. An awesome place to watch the locals roll in. And in Paia, that means morning surfers, cowboys from nearby upcountry and the type of folks the Five Man Electrical Band might call “long-haired freaky people.”

7:30 a.m. HEAD TO HANA

The drive all the way to Hana is lovely, and the drive around the south side of Maui is a treat. But you can see a lot of what this (often) wet and (always) wonderfully beautiful side of the island is all about by going about half way.

The speed limit is mostly about 20 or 30 mph on this narrow, winding, but not even remotely scary, road, and you can pull out at the numerous sections where folks stop to admire gushing waterfalls or scenic overlooks with towering African tulip trees dotted with flaming orange blossoms.

Go at least as far as the Keanae peninsula, reached via a two-minute drive off the highway. You’ll find a small stand selling banana bread, fresh pineapple and other goodies, and you can admire the surging white-blue-green surf that crashes with thunderous regularity onto the black lava rock. Turn back towards Paia and stop at Hookipa Beach Park to watch surfers and windsurfers ply the major waves on this part of the island.

11 a.m. UPCOUNTRY

Head to the fun, upcountry town of Makawao, a few minutes up the slopes of towering Mt. Haleakala. There are great galleries and western shops, including Aloha Cowboy. In the mood for a sweet? Check out the malasadas — Portuguese-style donuts — with oozing, sweet guava jam or other fillings, at legendary T Komoda store.

1 p.m. SOAK UP THE VIEW

They make a great burger with sautéed Maui onions at the Kula Lodge, a sprawling facility with fabulous views (not the day I was there, sadly, due to what locals call “volcano fog”) down the mountain and out towards Wailuku and the West Maui mountains. The gardens are lovely; a cascading set of paths surrounded by hibiscus, palm trees, and deep red and green heliconia. Kula grows everything from the famous onions to rich strawberries and beets (fabulous when roasted).

2 p.m. HOUSE OF THE SUN

Head up the slopes to Haleakala, the House of the Sun. It’s a 38-mile drive from Paia on the coast to the 10,000-foot summit; said to be the fastest climb by road in the world. It’s only a tad scary and there are plenty of guardrails, so only the most chicken drivers need to think twice about the trip.

You’ll pass groves of eucalyptus and gradually watch the temperature drop as you drive up past barren rock and scree that looks like northern Scotland. There are several glorious overlooks of the Haleakala crater, a moonscape of swirling browns and rust-reds and deep oranges, punctuated by cinder cones. Hundreds, if not thousands, of folks come up for morning sunrises; said to be an incredible experience, or sunsets. You can arrange to ride a bike down the mountain if you like.

5 p.m. LOCAL SEAFOOD

Just south of Paia, take in dinner at Mama’s Fish House. It’s renowned as the freshest and best seafood on Maui, and they’ll even tell you what fisherman caught your mahi mahi and where in the ocean it came from. The restaurant opens onto a lovely lawn dotted with palm trees and an outrigger canoe, and there’s a small beach just a few metres away.

Torches light up the night and the breeze wafts through a dining room filled to the rafters with photos of celebrity visitors; everyone from Frank Sinatra to Jimmy Buffett. You knew his name had to come up sometime in this story, didn’t you?

You can reach Travel Editor Jim Byers at jbyers@thestar.ca and follow him on Twitter @jimbyerstravel.

JUST THE FACTS

ARRIVING Air Canada and WestJet can get you to Maui directly from Vancouver or Calgary. A ton of airlines fly from the western U.S.

SLEEPING The Westin offers lovely rooms right on Ka’anapali Beach. The grounds are stunning, with cascading waterfalls and flamingoes and a flock of chirping birds and bright pink bougainvillea. Napili Kai Beach Resort is just metres from both Kapalua Beach and Napili Beach and it’s a very Hawaiian-feeling place with luxury touches. Down in Wailuku, try a down-home approach at the Wailuku Inn. There’s a small, lovely garden and they make a great breakfast, with Portuguese sausage and fresh fruit. Mama’s Fish House has lovely, spacious units right on the grounds, just steps from the beach and the restaurant.

DOING There are activities by the thousands. Whale-watching is hugely popular in winter. You can ride a bike down the slopes of Haleakala or ride zip lines on the mountain slopes or in the hills above Kaanapali. Surfing is very good near Lahaina and near Kapalua, especially in winter. There are golf courses for every level, including beginners at the scenic Maui municipal course and for experts at stunning Kapalua, Makena or Wailea. The snorkelling and diving are world class, and there are glorious gardens, especially near Hana. Learn the art of canoeing from natives or soak up cultural programs such as lei making at major hotels.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com